Middlesex v Durham
Published: 20 April 2012

Andrew Strauss fell for a duck but Neil Dexter led a Middlesex fightback as play finally got underway in their LV County Championship clash against Durham at Lord's, the hosts closing on 132/5.

The toss was the only significant event to take place on day one as persistent heavy showers ruined proceedings, with Durham unsurprisingly electing to bowl first.

And Strauss made sure the headlines will focus on his batting form when he was bowled between bat-and-pad pushing tentatively forward to his England teammate Graham Onions off only the second ball of the match.

Neil Dexter though launched a thrilling comeback after a rain delay in the afternoon, striking 13 fours in his 65 not out to keep the match very much alive heading into the weekend's action.

Dexter had temporarily handed over the captaincy to Chris Rogers for championship matches ahead of the game, as he sought time to find his form following a winter when his preparations were knocked back by a family bereavement.

And it seemed to work, as he and Dawid Malan put together a surprisingly fluid half-century partnership as Middlesex battled their way back from 2/3 in the morning session.

The hosts have Steven Finn available to spearhead their attack over the weekend, and despite huge chunks of time being lost to the weather so far, the match still has potential to produce a result.